Pensha

Conversations — so important in today’s times, yet so few and far between. Ambika Shaligram talks to people to find out how to start a conversation and ensure that we listen ‘well’ Have you recently attended a family gathering where everyone seemed to be oh-so-busy checking mails and WhatsApp messages and updating their status on various social media accounts? When someone you know has gone through a harrowing period, or has been bereaved and grieving, how do you reach out to them? What words will sum up your empathy? Why are we finding it difficult to converse with people? Why can’t we listen to them speak, and later if it really merits, add a line or two of our own? Here we chat with a few people to find out how to break the ice and start a conversation, and how to ensure that it doesn’t become stilted. Where strangers meet... Neha and Vishal Pipraiya were backpacking abroad when they met. In the towns that they visited, they found these small cafes which were cosy and i...